Knee problems have blighted the double Olympic champion, who lasted 16 miles while competing in the New York City Marathon at the beginning of November.

Soon after revealing he was quitting the sport, Gebrselassie performed a swift U-turn by saying: "Running is in my blood and I decided to continue competing.

"My announcement in New York was my first reaction after a disappointing race."

Gebrselassie, who won the Olympic 10,000m titles in 1996 and 2000, holds the marathon world record of two hours, three minutes, 59 seconds and has said that he wants to compete over the distance at the London Olympics in two years.

His coach Woldemeskel Kostre recently suggested Gebrselassie could compete for another eight years at the top level.

Gebrselassie also owns his own running club, has established a school in Ethiopia's capital city Addis Ababa and employs more than 1,000 people in his home city, where he is known as "The Emperor".

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.